You’ve probably seen Sonya Timchenko in the hallways or on the volleyball court dominating the floor, but what most people don’t know is that once a week, she goes to the Lake St. Louis Stables to ride horses.

Timchenko, a sophomore at Liberty, has been horseback riding since she was 5 years old when her grandma, Margaret, put her on a horse to try it out.

“She was a natural,” Margaret said.

Horseback riding has been apart of Timchenko’s family that dates back three generations because her grandma rode horses and also her great grandfather also rode.

Margaret started her love for horses when she was 7 or 8 years old when she lived in Germany.

Timchenko enjoys the dressage area of horseback riding and dressage is when a horse and the rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements, kind of like a dance.

When asked what was the hardest part of horseback riding, she said, “adjusting to different horses.”

Even though she rides different horses, her favorite horse is Picasso, a male horse. Sonya has to wear breeches, boots and a helmet when she rides horses.

For riding horses, it may look like just a hobby, but the love she has for doing it is in her blood.